I think I forgot to turn
off the radio when
I left my mother’s
womb
In Hasidic Judaism
it is said that before we
are born an angel
enters the womb,
strikes us on the
mouth
and we forget all
that we knew of
previous lives—
all that we know
of heaven
I think that I forgot
to forget.
I was born into two
places at once—
In one, it was chilly
lonely physical &
uncomfortable
in the other, I stayed
in the dimension of
Spirit. What I knew,
I knew.
I did not forget
Voices
The world of spirit
held me in its arms.
by Diane di Prima
from Poetic Outlaws
—Diane di Prima, the Beat Generation icon, who died in 2020, was the author of
“Revolutionary Letters,” “Spring and Autumn Annals,” among many other books
of poetry and prose.
